In 1990, 10 percent of births to white women with some post-secondary schooling, but not a college degree, occurred outside of marriage. Now it's 30 percent. Forty-one percent of all births in the U.S. happen outside of marriage, up from 17 percent 30 years ago.

All the studies show that, without the stable presence of a father in the home, kids are poorer, have more problems in school and in their academic performance and face a worse economic future. They're also more likely to become teenage parents and extend the cycle.

It would be great if both presidential candidates would read this story and be motivated by its lessons.

Yup, been saying this for years. No one wants to hear it. The new ‘God’ is tolerance says Colson, he’s right. All choices don’t just deserve an equal hearing, the choices are actually equal. Marriage and children is an equal choice with no marriage and children. But just ask the kids, they know.

What a mess we women have made of things. We are the ones who must insist on a tight knit family. We are the ones who have let our children down. If we preferred marriage, as has been the case for the past thousands of years, that is what would happen, just as no marriage is preferred today.

This problem is the MAJOR social issue affecting the parish these days. Looking back, we will see that our focus was misdirected. This is why the business of what we like to call “human sexuality” must be taken up comprehensively, not a “topic” or “group” at a time. It is a seamless matter, not a quilt.